Admission Requirements

Prerequisites

An undergraduate major in communicative disorders is recommended, but not required, for admission to the Au.D. program. If you do not have an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders, you must make up any course work deficiencies before or during your graduate study.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Admission to the program requires at least a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA (4.0=A) and a 3.0 in the major; however, the students we accept typically have much higher GPAs.

In very rare circumstances, we will consider a student whose GPA is below 3.0, but this requires a special review. To seek a special review, you must submit a letter of appeal along with your application materials. This letter must state the reasons for the low GPA and the rationale for making an exception to the minimum GPA rule.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

You must submit GRE scores from within the last five years. The Au.D. Admissions Committee will use results from the verbal, quantitative and written assessment subtests to determine acceptance criteria.

Practicum

You should have completed a minimum of 25 guided clinical clock-hours of observation before applying for graduate study. If you have not met this requirement, you must obtain observation hours before enrollment or during your first semester of Au.D. practicum.

International Student Applicants

You must have adequate spoken English skills for clinical practice. If your native language is not English, or your undergraduate instruction was not in English, the Au.D. program requires the following before you can engage in clinical practice:

  1. Demonstrate proficient spoken English by achieving one of the following:
    • a minimum criterion score of 60 on the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK);
    • a minimum scaled score of 26 on the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language-Internet based version (TOEFL-iBT), or a minimum scaled score of 26 on the TOEFEL Academic Speaking Test (TAST).
  2. Pass a speech intelligibility screening administered by the Au.D. program at UW-Madison or UW-Stevens Point.

If you do not meet these criteria, you must work with your advisor to develop a plan for improving your proficiency in spoken English.

After you complete this plan, you will again need to try to meet these criteria. If you are still unable to so, you may choose or be advised to pursue a non-clinical degree in Normal Aspects of Speech, Language and Hearing.